2013-02-26 — /travelprnews.com/ — VisitEngland, the national tourist board, and leading hotel and travel specialist, lastminute.com, have today launched a joint marketing campaign designed to encourage consumers to embrace the spontaneity of a last minute getaway by visiting www.lastminute.com/visitengland, and booking a short break in England.
Tube Card Panels and outdoor advertising at key rail hubs will target commuters in London and Birmingham, promoting eleven easily-reachable destinations across England, from Bristol to York. A 24-hour ‘England sale’ on 7 March will highlight special hotel deals of up to 50 per cent off around the country, supported by press, radio, digital escalator panels and digital display advertising. The entire two-week campaign will also include a programme of PR and social media activity.
Tim Holt, VisitEngland’s Head of Marketing said:“Whether it’s a shopping trip, a weekend of culture, or a relaxing break on the coast, this country really does have something for everyone! We want to inspire people to discover just how much England’s fantastic cities have to offer by booking a short break, and lastminute.com is the ideal partner for this campaign.”
Mark Maddock, lastminute.com’s UK managing director commented: “We specialise in providing unique getaways at the last minute, and with more people wanting to celebrate the best that England has to offer, we have teamed up with VisitEngland to offer great last minute deals for our customers to make the most of their free time”
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For more information contact:
VisitEngland – Sarah Long, Head of Corporate Communications, Tel: 020 7578 1452, Mob: 07500555651, Email: sarah.long@visitengland.org www.visitengland.org
Emma White, Corporate Communications Executive, Tel 020 7578 1471, Email: emmalucy.white@visitengland.org
lastminute.com – Cheryl Jooron at 77 PR. Tel: 020 7492 097, Email: lastminute@77pr.co.uk
Notes to Editors:
The destinations involved in this campaign are:
• Birmingham
• Brighton
• Bristol
• Chester
• Leeds
• Liverpool
• London
• Manchester
• NewcastleGateshead
• Stratford-Upon-Avon
• York
About VisitEngland
• VisitEngland is the country’s national tourist board. We work in partnership with the industry to develop the visitor experience across England, plan national tourism strategy, grow the value of tourism in England and provide advocacy for the industry and our visitors
• Our work is underpinned by robust research and customer insights. You can access the latest in-depth market intelligence and statistics on www.visitengland.org/insight-statistics
• For corporate information see www.visitengland.org and for consumer information see www.visitengland.com
About lastminute.com
Founded in October 1998, lastminute.com is the UK’s largest online hotel, travel and leisure specialist, with over 1.65 million visitors per week. It provides customers with great last minute deals offering five star experiences at three star prices. Promising to make the unattainable attainable for everyone, lastminute.com is proud to offer a variety of experiences from hotels to city breaks and relaxing holidays to fantastic spa getaways, top restaurant reservations and great theatre deals.
Headquartered in Hatton Garden, London, lastminute.com also operates in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore and the US.
Whether you’re looking for something adventurous, spontaneous, indulgent or entertaining, lastminute.com is a one-stop shop for great deals for everyone.
Awards
• Best Holiday Attraction/Ticket Provider at the British Travel Awards 2011
• Top 10 website award ranked third at the Experian Hitwise Top 10 Awards 2010
• Silver award for best hotel booking company and best holiday attraction ticket provider at the British Travel Awards 2010
• Best hotel website at the Travolution awards 2010
• Innovation in Multi-Channel Marketing winner at the e-consultancy Innovation Awards 2008
• Favourite European Short Break Provider at the Travel Weekly Globe Travel Awards 2008
• Best Travel Website at the BT Online Excellence Awards 2007
• Favourite Online Retailer at the British Travel Awards 2007